One Last Wish
by Monday1113
Summary: Cassidy loves her little brother Jake so much, she tells him stories and distracts him from what was his reality, when she loses him on Christmas Eve, will her brother's Christmas wish come true and have his sister make friends? Story much better than it sounds. Trust me. T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**So...not sure where this came from, but I'm deciding to post it. This whole thing is kinda depressing to me...**

**I own nothing except my OC's Jake and his sister Cassidy. End of story, I'm not even going to pretend that I do.**

One Last Wish

Cassidy's POV

I sat by my little brother's bedside. His breathing had evened out and I knew he would be asleep until morning. I suppose it was good for him to rest, his body wasn't fighting the flu off very well. When I had come to visit him this afternoon, after I had finished wrapping a present for him to open tomorrow, he had already been yawning, sleepily he mumbled 'I love you Cassie' before he was out like a was Christmas Eve and I held a copy of the letter he had written to Santa, his letters jagged, uneven and childishly awkward. I skimmed over the letter, not taking in the words that I had committed to memory.

Dear Santa,

Mommy and Cassidy (my sister) keep telling me I've been good this year, but I don't think so.

Santa, I've been really, really sick and the doctors said I won't be home for Christmas this year. I want mommy and Cassidy to not feel so lonely when I go to visit daddy soon.

What I really want is for Cassidy to have a friend. We moved here so I could receive the best treatment. She left her friends behind and hasn't left my side since we got here.

Can you do that for me Santa?

From Jake Calvert

P.S. Cassidy says you're not real, but I know better.

P.P.S. I included some drawings Cassidy made for me, she tells these fantastic stories to me some nights when I have bad dreams. I hope you like them; she still has a copy of each of them for the two of us.

I covered my mouth with my hand and bit back a sob. Placing the letter back on his bedside table, I saw him toss his head back and forth on the pillow for a few seconds before he stilled himself again.

I knew it had never been my fault he got sick, but I was watching him when we ended up going to the emergency room for a bloody nose that wouldn't stop bleeding. They diagnosed him with leukemia, his soft, duck fluff red hair fell out during his treatment, he went into remission, but started developing bruises while he slept at night, plagued by nightmares of the needles from treatment. They said he relapsed. It was early summer time, we had been planning a trip to this amusement park near the coast and his hair was starting to grow back.

Within days it seemed, he had been thrown back into the fiery hell that was his treatment, the chemo and radiation making him so pale and weak and frail. Three weeks ago, he wrote a letter to Santa, and I had made myself a copy of it to keep. It would go with all the other ones from his time in the hospital. Days after mailing it off, Jakey caught the flu, they assumed that one of his classmates had it and he got it on the one day he actually felt well enough to leave his bed. His immune system was so weak though, everyone knew it was an uphill battle that he was losing, they all knew that this would be his last December.

I signed out at the front desk and headed home, the wind bit at my skin and I pulled my scarf tighter around my face; and my jacket closer to my body. Now was not the time to get sick. Jake needed me. he needed someone to tell him stories, to make him laugh just enough so he didn't feel the needles piercing his skin to give him vitamins, someone to rub his back when he would spend what felt like hours bent over the toilet, puking his guts up.

That person was me. dad had been gone since Jake was three, and mom always was working, trying to pay medical bills, rent, and all the other expenses. I spent all my spare time at the hospital, talking to Jake, to the other kids, to the parents of childhood cancer patients, and just talking in general.

I drove Jake to all his appointments when he was home, I took him to school when I could, and I more often than not went to collect his school work in the afternoon.

A snowball collided with the back of my head and I shook it off. I didn't have time to do that, my grades were starting to slip from all the stress, I can't get sick because then Jake would wake up all alone. Another snowball hit my face.

"Knock it off!" I mumbled, heading up the steps of the small brick house I had come to love. A hand tugged at my coat sleeve. Looking down and slightly behind me, I saw a young girl pulling on my sleeve, a brown haired boy catching up.

"Sophie, you know you're not supposed to run off like that." The boy picked up the small child and gave me a snaggle-toothed smile. "Sorry about that, my sister wanted to ask you to play with us, we were going to get some friends together and have a snowball fight."

"Sorry kid, I don't have time to play." The little girl, Sophie, tugged on my sleeve again. Pulling my drawing book out of my arm. It fell to the snow dusted porch and fell open to the most recent picture, one of the ones I knew Jake had put in his letter.

"Whoa! Did you draw this?" the boy asked, picking it up, showing it to his sister.

"Bunny!" she said, poking at the paper.

"Yeah, I drew it for my little brother, Jake. I'm guessing you like it?" he nodded.

"Do you think Jake would want to play with us?" I gave a sharp laugh, he looked a little startled.

"I bet he'd want to, but Jake's in the hospital, he's really sick." Tears pricked at my eyes and I stubbornly wiped them away.

"Oh," the boy said, crestfallen. "I hope he gets better soon." I shook my head and the tears rolled down.

"He's not, everyone knows it, and even he knows it, he's accepted it, so why haven't I?" I slid down the door, and they joined me. my phone rang, and I looked at the caller ID. Burgess Memorial Hospital. I placed a finger to my lips and answered. "Hello, Cassidy Calvert speaking."

"Miss Calvert, we're calling about Jake. A few minutes ago, he died, his organs shut down suddenly, we're very-"

"I don't care. Just, call my mom at work." Shutting the phone, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. The boy with brown hair was concerned for me? "That was the hospital, Jake's gone." I opened the door and threw my stuff inside. "That snowball fight sounds really, really good right now."

A snowball filled hour later, Jamie and Sophie had gotten permission from their mother to come over to my house for hot chocolate and cookies. I had plugged in the lights on our artificial tree, the star was still off, I had been waiting for Jake to put it up, but he never did.

Sophie was happy sitting at the table, paper and crayons spread about, while Jamie looked through my sketch book.

"How did you draw all of this?" he swung his legs as he looked at the picture of the white-haired boy in the blue hoodie, flipping to the page with the hummingbird –like person.

"I just saw them in a dream, and my dreams were so vivid, I showed the pictures to Jake and told him their stories." Jamie seemed to know something. "Why, what do they mean to you?" he looked at Sophie, and then at the window, frost was quickly spreading up the window. He hopped off the stool, and showed my sketches to the frost. Alright, in one day I've lost my baby brother, had fun for the first time since Jake got sick, and made friends with a boy who sees things. Great. Walking over to Sophie, she tapped the paper.

"Bunny!" picking up a bright blue crayon, I drew the shape of a bunny. Long ears that were pink inside, and a cute little fluffy tail. Handing the child the drawing, I looked out the frosty windows.

"It's getting dark, I bet your mom is going to want you home soon." I suggested, the tears I had bottled up to seem strong were becoming too much. They needed to be let out.

"Alright, come on Sophie, let's go." As I watched them go down the sidewalk, engaging in another snow battle with some of the neighborhood children, I climbed up the steps, closed the door to Jake's room, and entered mine, collapsing on the lavender bedspread. Tears welled up and fell quicker than they should have.

"Merry Christmas Jakey, I hope it's nice up there in heaven."

* * *

I sat on the roof; the sky blue quilt that usually had adorned Jake's bed was wrapped tightly around me. Mom had tried to talk to me when she got back; I threw my copy of Chicken Soup for the Older Sister's Soul at her. When Jake first got sick, I sent them my story in and they put it in the book.

The sky was patchy with snow clouds, it had been snowing on and off for several days. Each day the temperature fell further below the freezing point for the high, and on nights like tonight, it was below zero, and here I was, sitting on the roof in yoga pants, and a tank top, my short red hair dusted with frozen water droplets was blowing in the wind and thin slivers of cold cut through the thick quilt. I didn't care, it smelt like Jake and his medicine, and the antibacterial cream he used. It smelt like hospital disinfectant and laundry detergent.

But most of all, it smelt like life. It smelt like how everything should, it was how everything had been since he was three years old. He was mommy's little trooper and my little hero. He had gone to hell and back again with his fight against leukemia and was taken down by the flu.

"How is that fair?" I shouted at the sky, not sure who I was blaming. "He was only nine years old." My voice had fallen down to a whisper, tears slid down my cheeks without end; they had to stop eventually, right? "Why did you take my sunshine away?"

I looked at the sky, the moon shone through the clouds and I remember the day before we took Jake back in early in the summer, we had been laying out in a field in the country side, a red knit cap on his head.

_"See those stars over there Jakey? That's the constellation Leo, the lion. He's brave, and strong, just like you." I tickled him in the side lightly; it had been a peaceful four years, one more before they would declare him as 'Cancer Free'._

_"I'm only strong because you taught me how to be strong Cassie." Sitting up, I could hear the sleepy yawn in his voice. Gently, I scooped him up in my arms._

_"C'mon buggabear, let's get you home, you're getting sleepy."_

_By the time we reached the old pickup truck, Jake was fast asleep in my arms. A small smile on his face, pleasant dreams must have been visiting him tonight, and that was good. We both needed a fill night's rest. Buckling him up in his seat, I began to sing to him like I always had._

_"You are my sunshine,_

_My only sunshine,_

_You make me happy,_

_When skies are grey…"_

"You'll never know dear

How much I love you

So please don't take

My sunshine

Away"

I finished the song on a broken note, my voice cracked and a new wave of emotions rolled over me. Guilt, depression, anger, confusion, and…happiness. Jake was now free to live his life in heaven with our cat Micah, aunt Rosemary, grandma and grandpa , and everyone else. He didn't have to worry about taking his medicines, or waking me up when he got sick in the bathroom, or having nightmares anymore.

Jake was free and he no longer was chained down.

I just had to help fulfill his last wish, I needed to make peace with myself, move on and make friends. It's what Jakey, my little buggabear, wanted me to do, so by golly, I'll do it. No matter what it takes, I'll make some good friends and move on.

I climbed back inside and quickly fell asleep, his blue quilt tucked around me.

**So...do ya want me to continue? How did this make you feel, because, with me, I had tears slipping down my face as I wrote the part where Cassidy is singing. **

**Review my readers, review this story, flame it if you want, critique it in anyway you deem nescessary. I'll be fine with it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing except my OC's Jake and his sister Cassidy. End of story, I'm not even going to pretend that I do.**

Chapter Two

When I went downstairs, I grabbed a muffin from the kitchen, and walked into the living room, plopping onto the couch next to my mom, she was wearing one of dad's old sweaters over her pj's. She had threaded a chain through her mother's ring, the silver band that had our birthstones, Jake's ruby, and my aquamarine.

"I'm not going to lie to you Cass, everything's changed, and if you need me, I will be here for you." She kissed the top of my head, and pulled away with a small smile on her face, the sun had risen hours ago and it illuminated the living room through frosted windows. "How about we try to keep this relatively normal though, would that help?"

"Yeah, it should help." I picked up a box that was wrapped with shiny red paper, faint golden poinsettias were visible when the light caught it a certain way. When I opened it, I found a small box inside, one that would usually hold jewelry. As I opened the box, a note fell out. Immediately, I picked it up and read it.

A splash of hope,

A spark of wonder,

A dash of dreams,

And a touch of memories,

The recipe for a lifelong adventure

All you have to do is believe.

Then at the very bottom, as if added at the last second by a different hand, was another line.

…and add a little fun!

Placing the note back in the box, I looked at the bracelet in the box; it was a charm bracelet with some very random charms, a snowflake, a tooth, an Easter egg, a spark, and something that resembled a bi-plane. When I put it on, everything felt…lighter and everything looked brighter.

"That's a beautiful bracelet Cass, who sent it?" I looked at the wrapping paper.

"It doesn't say." I shrugged and she picked up a square box wrapped in candy cane paper. "Mom, no, that was-"I was too late, she unwrapped it, looking at the framed picture of the three of us, we took it the day that Jake's hair started showing up again, little fuzzy specks of red dotted his head. My hair was still unmercifully short, and mom's was pulled back in a pony tail. Jake's eyes were so full of life and happiness when we took this picture, his skin was a healthy color, everything was right. A single tear landed on the glass panel.

"Cassie, how about you go play in the snow?" I got up and ran back upstairs. I knew what that meant. Mom wasn't handling it well, it was our safe code. If she told me to go outside and play, it meant she didn't want me to see her so upset. Changing into jeans and a thermal grey shirt, I pulled on my grey hat, snow boots and fleecy black coat and ran, shoving my gloves on my hands. I didn't stop until I felt a snowball knock my hat right off my head. Whirling around, I saw a figure zip around the side of a building. Dusting snow off my hat, I shoved it back on my head, and scooped up some snow, determined to get them back. Another snowball hit me, this one coming from somewhere above me. Blindly, I launched it in the general direction the other came from. With a satisfying _thwack _I knew it hit its target. I turned around, and saw the same boy from my drawings standing on the closed dumpster lid. He shook the snow out of his pure white hair.

"Good aim kid." He looked at me and caught my eyes. "Hold up, you can _see _me?" I nodded and a wide grin grew on his face. He jumped off the dumpster, another snowball in hand. "Want to help me start a snowball war?"

"Sure, that's sounds like fun."

**So...it seems I'm continuing. I'll accept any ideas for this story, otherwise you're just going to have a girl coping with the death of her younger brother and fulfilling his last wish of her making friends.**

**Review my readers, review this story, flame it if you want, critique it in anyway you deem nescessary. I'll be fine with it.**


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